Eccentricity Goes Mainstream

How times change.

It used to be that wearing anything that did not match - particularly something worn as part of a pair, such as shoes or socks - was considered at best odd and usually, far worse, as eccentric.

What used to be viewed with suspicion and lurked at the fringes of pop culture has now been brought into the mainstream.


































Little Mismatched offers a line of, well, mismatched footwear and clothing and in doing so seeks to convert a behavior that had conferred the unwelcomed status of social pariah into a desirable one of confident self-expression. With appeals such as 'How mismatched are you?' the brand seeks to competitively incite the prospective buyer with a dare.

It's a great example of how mass marketers seek inspiration from the margins to mine new commercial opportunity.

The Age of Transparency - Part II

We made an interesting discovery in the fridge this week. Much like its real world cousin, it's the result of two items having fermented and combined over the past month.

The first item was commentary on the peril companies face in this age of transparency (Sep 9th) The second was a point-of-view on Dove's latest branding effort, it's Onslaught commercial which seems more rhetoric that authenticity (Oct 7th).

The authenticity of Unilever's Dove campaign is called into question because the company promotes the very opposite values through its Axe brand marketing efforts.























Well OFD called it before Advertisng Age did.

In today's age of transparency, companies can't hide aspects of their operations, sourcing of raw materials or values conflict that they were able to conceal in yesteryear. The web 2.0 age of the internet it spawning a new a climate of corporate accountabilty, one that's forced upon firms whether they like it or not.

Marketers can choose to ignore as they wish. The enlightened ones will read the tea leaves and seize it for inspiration and entrepreneurial opportunity.

A goldmine in plain sight

The standards of service at many mass market retail outlets has fallen to an astonishing low point. It is a huge opportunity for the right minded marketer to capitalize upon, even in circumstances in which they are selling a commodity offering, or in situations in which the normal consumers freedoms are not in place.

Take two shops literally opposite each other on a particular concourse at San Francisco airport. Both sell largely the same items. When encountered yesterday, both were ineptly run. Long lines snaked through and out of the stores because counter staff moved slowly, thought slowly and reacted slowly. Even an activity as simple as handling payment and operating a till became an unnecessarily time-wasting undertaking.

Friends have remarked that there is no value to making either of these operations more efficient. The consumer is a captive one: their choice is confined. There is literally nowhere else to go other than a place selling the same stuff at the same inept service. The friends are also quick to mention that it's not possible to get better employee contributions and commitments when paying minimum wage.

They miss the point in dramatic fashion:

1. Where products are commodities - even of basic staples - service is the opportunity to be a differentiator.

2. Doing so can sustain a modest price premium, one which (presuming the consumer notices) he is probably prepared to pay if he understands that speedy efficient service is part of the transaction beyond the actual item being purchased.

3. It makes sound economic sense to pay employees MORE for retail positions in which higher productivity translates directly into a greater volume of customer processing and therefore sales (to expect minimum wage earners to perform higher is unrealistic)

4. The fact that the consumer is captive - and does not have the typical freedom of choice to exercise - does not mean she or he does not still want better service.

5. The economic benefit for the shop delivering faster, more efficient retail service is to have a greater share of customers. It would require disrupting an existing consumer belief and behavior. Most people don't ever stop to consider where else to buy what they're after: they presume product prices and service are identical in an airport.

6. Promoting the service advantage where and when it matters - before prospects have wandered into a store - enables them to be conscious of a service that may be very much needed and preferred over an unknown alternative, even if that alternative is just a few yards away. This is not unlike the pitches that stall owners colorfully deliver against competing vendors in a marketplace, bringing awareness of something special to attract greater than fair share of traffic.

It is hard for any one who has been on the receiving end of retail service in an airport recently not to come away without being painfully aware of how much room for improvement there is. And where glaring potential for improvement lies, gold is often to be found.